Improvement in thatching- for stacks of hat and grain



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ROBERTY MCLARN, 0F SH1RLAND, PENNSYLVANIA. I Letters Patent No. 87,425, dated Mol/rch 2, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN THATCHIN FOR STACKS OF HAY ATD GRAIN.

The Schedulereferred to in these Letters Patent and making pari: of the same.

To all whom it man] concern B@ a known that 1, ROBERT MCLARN, of sbirlaud,

` cess of thatching stacks of hay, grain, 811e, that the labor can he more conveniently and expeditiously performed than heretofore, while the stack will be neat in appearance, and will be well protected against the weather. Y

In thel drawings- A is a finished, and

B, a partially finished stack.

` In the stack A, the different courses of thatchinggor straw, are represented by the letters a (t1-a2, the straw being applied with the buts down, and the lower edge of each course overlapping the upper edge of the course below.

At the apex of the stack, a small pin, p, is driven vertically into it, and the upper ends ofthe straw forming the upper course are drawn in around the pin, and against it, and iir'mly bound to it, as slown at m', so as to prevent the water from soaking into the stack at that point.

rlhe courses of straw are fastened to the body of the stack by means of cords, or bands, c cpassing horizontally around it, the two ends of each band being tied together. l

, Other cords, e e e, are tied to the upper band, c, thence pass .down .to and around the next, c, and

thence down to and around the others, as seen in connection with the stack A,in the drawing, their lower end hanging beneath the lower band, and aweight, W, being attached thereto, for the purpose of. holding `the bands down tightly to the stack, and preventing the wind from loosening the thatch.

The stack, thus completed, is water-tight, and its covering is very durable.

My improved process for constructing such stack is as follows One workman (N o. l) takes a bundle of straw, and proceeds to apply it around the lower end of the stack,

'while another, (No. 2,) taking a pole, yD, having a cord, C, wound spirally around stack, and fastening the loose end of the cord to it, follows workman No. 1 around, unwiudin g the cord as hev it, drives a pin, fi, into .the

goes, and applying it around the stack, as near as pos- -sible to the middle ofthe course a.

In order to prevent the cord from slipping up, and becoming loose, he occasionally inserts another pin, i, into the body of the stack, on kthe upper side of the cord.

When he completes the circuit of the stack in this manner, he ties the ends of the cords at the point i;

Another workman,`(No. 3, or No. 1, if no others are present,) taking a bale of straw, and ascending a ladder, applies a second course, al, while workman N o. 2, walking on the ground, applies the cord around this course, as before, and so on until the stack is completed:

The cords e e and weights W W are then applied, as hereinabove described, and the whole operation is iinished.

The advantages claimed for this process of thatching stacks of ha grain, 85o., are that it greatly facilitates the work, and that its product is superior, in point of `durability and tightness, to anything of the kind heretofore introduced into general use.

Having thus described my invention,

What I `claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

'lhe thatched covera al az, when used in connection with the horizontal bands c c c?, the vertical cords ee', the weights W W, pin p, and the cord m, alLsaid parts being arranged and combined together as described, `and for the purpose specified.

Witnesses: ROBERT MCLARN.

JAMES BIGHAM, S, H. S. CAMPBELL. 

